Korea : Economic and Policy Developments

Korea's impressive macroeconomic performance up to 1997 served to mask fundamental structural problems. Structural reform efforts have been focused on financial sector and corporate sector reforms and liberalizing trade and capital account transactions. The labor market situation has improved, and the unemployment rate has declined. A remarkable feature of Korea's economic performance following the crisis has been the large turnaround in the current account balance. Monetary policy has been focused on stimulating and supporting economic recovery. Reforming corporate governance is one of the government's top priorities.